Liyun Zou,1,* Qiufeng Wei,1,* Sining Pan,1,* Fei Xiao,1,2 Yage Jiang,1 Yu Zhong,1 Yubo Xie1,3 

1Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Anesthesiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Guangxi Key Laboratory of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery for Gastrointestinal Cancer, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Yubo Xie; Yu Zhong, Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13977121557 ; +86 15177929679, Email xybdoctor@163.com; zzlugl@163.com

Background: Perioperative anesthetic management of patients with diabetic foot undergoing surgical treatment is challenging due to their poor cardiovascular health status. According to previous literature, general anesthesia and peripheral nerve block have their own advantages and disadvantages for such patients. We reported the effect of these two anesthesia techniques on perioperative hemodynamics and prognosis in these patients.
Methods: This study employed a prospective randomized controlled design, where patients meeting the inclusion criteria were assigned to two groups: the general anesthesia group (GA group) and the peripheral nerve block group (PNB group). The primary outcomes were the differences in intraoperative hemodynamic stability and the incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups. The second outcomes were postoperative numerical rating scale scores, analgesic drug remedies, postoperative sleep conditions monitored by sleep bracelets and health status assessed by EQ-5D-5 L scores.
Results: One hundred and nine subjects were enrolled in this study, including 54 in the GA group and 55 in the PNB group. The baseline parameters of the two groups were comparable. The GA group exhibited a significantly higher incidence of hypotension, and Colloid intake and total fluid intake were significantly higher in the GA group than in the PNB group. Additionally, a larger proportion of patients in the GA group. The scores of postoperative pain during the 48 hours after surgery were significantly higher, and more patients needed tramadol for postoperative analgesia during the 24 h after surgery in the GA group than in the PNB group. Patients in the PNB group slept better, first feeding time, earlier out-of-bed activity and earlier discharge from the hospital, compared to the GA group. However, there was no obvious difference in postoperative complications between the two groups except pharyngeal pain.
Conclusion: Peripheral nerve block is a better option in patients with diabetes undergoing elective below-knee surgery than general anesthesia.

Keywords: diabetic foot, general anesthesia, peripheral nerve block, hemodynamic, postoperative pain, postoperative complication